Watchminder: A Useful Tool for Kids with ADHD

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a tool to remind your child with ADHD to pay attention to the task at hand throughout the day. A real tool, not nagging or punishment. Well, there is! Watchminder contacted me several weeks ago and asked if Ricochet would like to try their watch in the fully-programmable latest version, the Watchminder 3. What they heard from me was a resounding, “yes!”

When the package arrived a few days later, Ricochet was thrilled… thrilled with the small metal box it came in, that is. That boy and his love of boxes, especially fancy ones. 🙂

We took the watch out of the box and placed it on the charger that was included. I had never seen such a charger, but it took Ricochet all of 30 seconds to see the connection point on the watch and know exactly how to connect it. He kept coming back to check on it every hour or so, anxious for it to charge up so he could check it out. This boy loves gadgets and everything electronic.

Help for Kids with ADHD

The next morning it was charged up and ready for setup. We followed the instructions carefully to set the time and date. Once we got through that, we had a pretty good feel for the controls and how to use it. Watchminder 3 comes with two functions, a “training” function that sounds the same alert every 30 minutes with vibration and a note on the screen, and a fully customizable function where you can program many alarms with customized text messages.

We decided to start with the training function. I knew Ricochet would get anxious if particular reminders, like turning in homework, occurred at a time he couldn’t complete them, but he liked the idea of a vibration and one-word reminder every so often to help him stay on task. We scrolled through the 30 pre-programmed messages to see which one he felt would be most helpful. There were messages like “pay attention,” “be positive,” and “focus,” but Ricochet chose “breathe” — he said that would help him relax and focusing on his breathing would help him focus (ah, those message at occupational therapy did permeate!).

He immediately put the watch on his wrist and waited for his first reminder. He was so excited about his new gadget, that he checked the time just about every minute. I was just glad he was into it, instead of resistant. I knew a watch could be a sensory issue for him (this kid will only wear soft waistband athletic pants and underwear, and never anything remotely itchy).

At first, he complained that the vibration of the alarm was too forceful and it startled him. I understood after he took it off and laid it on top his dresser that evening — I heard the buzzing rattling on the wood in another room. But he was interested enough to keep trying, and he got used to it after a couple days.

“I like the reminder to breathe,” he told me. “I forget to breathe sometimes when I’m stressed.”

Super! The Watchminder 3 turned out to be a functional tool for my ADHD arsenal.

Check out the Watchminder 3 and see if it may be a useful tool for your child too. (They’re even running a $10 off special right now!)

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Penny Williams

Penny Williams guides and mentors parents raising kids with ADHD and/or autism. She’s the parent of a son with ADHD and autism, and the author of three award-winning books on parenting kids with ADHD. Penny is the current editor of ParentingADHDandAutism.com, Founder and Instructor for The Parenting ADHD & Autism Academy, and a frequent contributor on parenting and children with ADHD for ADDitude Magazine and other parenting and special needs publications.

Listen Up! You've Got Work to Do

Research shows that parent training not only improves ADHD symptoms and behavior, but also reduces parent stress and increases parent self-confidence. Learning strategies to effectively manage ADHD + autism is one of the key ingredients to happy kids and families.

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